Fountain Valley

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT FOUNTAIN VALLEY

For the first seven years of his life, Paul Hortobagyi never tasted a waffle. Then one day he found himself surrounded by them. The Fountain Valley resident was strolling through the streets of Liege, Belgium, with his parents when he encountered artisanal street vendors selling waffles at nearly every corner. They would grab a piece of paper, sprinkle the buttery-sweet treasure with powdered sugar and hand it out. He recalled no fancy stuffing or topping. The confection, in its purest form, was a great indulgence.

The Costa Mesa City Council met Monday to discuss whether to pursue a lawsuit to prevent toll roads on the 405 Freeway, a proposal that was met with stiff opposition from area cities last year. Though there was no public report from the closed-session meeting, officials said the council weighed its options and will hear more from the city attorney's office in the coming days. Last year, representatives from Costa Mesa and five other cities - Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster and Huntington Beach - opposed a $1.7-billion plan that would have added a toll lane and general-purpose lane in each direction between the 605 Freeway outside Rossmoor and the 73 Freeway in Costa Mesa.

FIELD HOCKEY Newport Harbor 4, Marina 0 NEWPORT BEACH - Team captain Jordan Blanchfield scored two goals to help lead the Sailors to the Sunset League-opening win Tuesday. Daniela Vazquez and Elizabeth Muenchow also scored, while Emily Conant and Alexa Luckow provided an assist each for Newport Harbor. Goalkeeper Erika Nilsson made four saves for the Sailors, who play at Fountain Valley on Thursday. - GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL Sage Hill def. Calvary Chapel Downey DOWNEY - Juliette Singarella had nine kills and four aces to help lead the Lightning to a 25-9, 25-9, 25-9, 25-9 victory in their Academy League opener Tuesday.

For the past month, Todd Hanson has been working and starting a building process at Costa Mesa High. After he was named the Mustangs' boys' and girls' volleyball coach, it was as if he hit the ground running. He has been excited to do his best to inject life into a program that has had plenty of turnover at the head coach position. There hasn't been much winning during at least the past nine years, when there has been eight different boys' volleyball coaches. The girls' program has had its fair share of struggles.

When Daniel Tello realized his four-piece band couldn't be called the Originals - because the name belonged to a '60s R&B and soul group - he added "ites. " It wasn't an arbitrary decision, though. Tello took inspiration from legendary ska bands the Skatalites and the Israelites, because the last four letters represented a group of people united by a common love for music, he said. In the four years since, Tello, Peter Fontes and Tim Frankeny - all Fountain Valley High School graduates - and Michael Belk, whom they met through common friends, have rehearsed in Fontes' mother's Costa Mesa garage.

A member of Costa Mesa's Pension Oversight Committee recently resigned his seat, citing difficulties with his other commitments. Shawn Dewane left the council-appointed position in late May because of a scheduling conflict, according to committee's meeting minutes. The minutes also indicate that he was unable to attend any of the first four weekly sessions, which began May 1 . Dewane said Monday that he had hoped to serve the nine-member group and provide his expertise, but the Wednesday meetings conflicted with his Orange County Water District meetings, which take place the first and third Wednesday of each month.

Months before a Newport Beach man was kidnapped and severely beaten last year, he had traveled to Las Vegas with a business acquaintance he knew from his Orange County medical marijuana dispensary, according to court testimony given Wednesday by police detectives who investigated the attack. On that trip to the desert, the Balboa Peninsula resident spent tens of thousands of dollars on hotel suites and gambling and allegedly paid for his associate to have a massage that included a sexual act, according to the Newport Beach Police detectives.

Hattie Marshall remembers the day her father took her to the library. It was 12 years ago when Brian and his 6-year-old daughter went to check out a book. She doesn't remember the book she came home with that day. What she will never forget is what she picked up from the doorsteps of the library - a new sport to play. "In front of the library, there was a table for softball signups," Marshall said. "My dad asked me if I wanted to try it. It was like T-ball and it sounded fun. " Softball has been a big part of Marshall's life since that trip to the library.

BASEBALL Beckman 3, Corona del Mar 2 IRVINE — Freshman Brenden Heuston went two for three with one run batted in as the visiting Sea Kings flirted with an upset of the Pacific Coast League-leading Patriots on Wednesday. Sam Younesi drove in the other run for CdM (6-13, 2-7 in league), for which Peter Walecka pitched a complete game, allowing six hits. A bad-hop single led to Beckman's go-ahead run in the sixth and CdM had the tying run on second with one out in the seventh, before its next two hitters struck out. GIRLS' TRACK & FIELD Fountain Valley 85, Newport Harbor 51 FOUNTAIN VALLEY — Erin Barth won the 1,600 meters (five minutes, 21.3 seconds)